Yuga Labs bids farewell to royalty-lacking markets
Yuga Labs, an nonfungible token (NFT) company, will be removing its collections from NFT marketplaces that do not support royalties for creators. On February 26, Yuga Labs, the creator of the popular Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) and Mutant Ape Yacht Club (MAYC) collections, announced on X (formerly Twitter) that certain NFT collections will only be available on marketplaces that “respect creator royalties.” Yuga Labs clarified that this decision will only apply to some of its NFT collections, including those with a royalty filter such as Sewer Passes, HV-MTL, 10KTF, Otherside, and more. The move by Yuga Labs to withdraw support from non-royalty NFT marketplaces coincides with the launch of Magic Eden’s Ethereum-based marketplace, which emphasizes contractual royalty enforcement and aims to bring the NFT space back to a creator-led Web3.
South Korean officials to hold discussions on NFTs with Gary Gensler
Financial authorities in South Korea are planning to engage in discussions with Gary Gensler, the Chair of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, to determine whether to classify NFTs as virtual assets. According to local media outlet Edaily, Lee Bok-hyun, the chairman of South Korea’s Financial Supervisory Service (FSS), will initiate discussions with Gensler in May. The report highlights the absence of clear legal definitions for NFTs in the country at present. Furthermore, NFTs were excluded from the scope of virtual assets in South Korean laws that are scheduled to take effect in July. Lawmakers deemed the risk associated with NFT markets to be low, as these assets are primarily traded for collection purposes. The discussions with Gensler will center around whether to include and classify NFTs as virtual assets, although the FSS clarified that the schedule and agenda for the meeting have yet to be finalized.
U.S. Air Force analyst charged with NFT fraud
An analyst from the United States Air Force has been accused of engaging in fraud involving two Solana-based NFT collections. Devin Alan Rhoden, a 24-year-old Air Force analyst, and Berman Jerry Nowlin Jr., a 20-year-old individual, were charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering. If convicted, they could face up to five years in federal prison. The duo minted three Solana-based NFT collections named Undead Apes, Undead Lady Apes, and Undead Tombstone. They convinced investors to send them at least $300,000 in cryptocurrency in exchange for the NFTs. The charges allege that Rhoden and Nowlin Jr. made false claims and misrepresentations to attract investors, including falsely suggesting a collaboration with a well-known NFT project. When the project denied any association with their collections, the value of the assets plummeted. By that time, Rhoden and Nowlin Jr. had already converted the received cryptocurrency into dollars.